I've got a Hotshot, and it's definitely nice and durable, but I don't particularly like its extremely focussed beam. I'm thinking about getting a Danger Zone instead.

In the winter when I'm riding at night a lot, I use a Magicshine which is way brighter than any of these and runs off my headlight pack, for $30, but if you have to buy it with the battery pack it's not only huge but way outside the budget.

Yes, the beam on a Cygolite Hotshot is quite narrow. But it's as wide as the road at about 50 to 75 feet back. ( And closer than that, it's very bright from any direction, no beam needed.) At a few hundred feet, it's way wider than the road. So cars will see that bright blink even if the road is curvy. That focused beam makes it very visible on cloudy days, too.

And there's some diverted light at wide angles, even up to 90 degrees, that's bright enough for close range cars on side roads to see.

I have mine aimed slightly downward, and if I look back, I can see the pool of red light on the road behind me. That's bright!
Side lighting
Here's the Hotshot laid on it's side, exactly horizontal, at an inch above the paper. The brightest light shows as yellow, but it's actually red.

The bright side light aimed at the camera is visible, and the other side lighting that hits the paper is pretty bright, in a checkerboard pattern. You can see the central cone of bright light is already hitting the paper just 6 or 8 inches from the light, so it has a decent spread.

This side lighting is just diverted light, via prisms, from the main beam. There's only one LED.

WARNING: if you push the On button in the store, when the light is still in it's box, don't aim it at your face...

I bought 2 of these a few months ago and they are great. BikePakmart - Super Bright 1-Watt Headlight, 1/2 Watt Taillight, Safety Light Set, Quick-Release, Weather Resistant the tail light is identical to the planet bike super flash and parts are interchangeable. It also includes a nice headlight that has about a 100 lumen output that is usable for limited night riding or as a day-time strobe. Both use a a a batteries. I bought the sets for 13 bucks but they went up to 29 recently. Maybe they were mispriced, but even at current price you get à super flash with a free headlight included. The tail light is fantastic and the headlight is great for daytime flashing or as a limited use night riding light.

The problem with all disposable battery lights that I have ever seen is that they gradually grow dim in relation to the battery voltage. When using rechargeable batteries they are never quite as bright since Nimh or Nicd batteries are 1.2v per cell as opposed to 1.5v for alkaline. Li-ion rechargeable lights maintain the same brightness for the entire run of the battery. The only down side is they give you no warning when the battery is getting low. They just shut off. But I just keep a charger where I park the bike and plug it in every night or 2. I'm running this Dosun tail light (just came out this year) and really like it's 270 degree spread.

The problem with all disposable battery lights that I have ever seen is that they gradually grow dim in relation to the battery voltage. When using rechargeable batteries they are never quite as bright since Nimh or Nicd batteries are 1.2v per cell as opposed to 1.5v for alkaline. Li-ion rechargeable lights maintain the same brightness for the entire run of the battery.

The reality is that alkaline batteries start at 1.5v and go down from there, and NiMH batteries start from 1.4v and go down from there. I don't know why they rate the voltages differently for primary vs. rechargeable cells, but they do. Your alkaline cell only hits 1.5 volts when brand new, but when a NiMH cell hits 1.2 volts ... it's around 75% of the way to dead.

In any event, for most lights, the difference in brightness between alkaline and rechargeables is negligible. Of course, the advantage is that when the light starts to get dim ... you recharge the rechargeable and throw away the alkaline, so it's more practical to keep the rechargeables near full charge and therefore near full brightness -- just charge them every ride or every few rides rather than replacing them when they get dim like you do with alkalines.

As for your Li-ion lights, Li-ion cells have a discharge curve just like alkaline and NiMH cells do -- they generally (there are some different chemistries out there) start at 4.2 volts, but their "nominal" voltage (i.e. the voltage that the package says) is 3.6 volts. The only reasons you don't notice the difference in brightness are that 1) many of them have regulators that make sure the LED gets a constant voltage, and 2) Li-ion cells are ruined by discharging below 3.0 volts/cell or so, so they usually have a cutoff circuit that just shuts it off completely rather than letting it get dimmer and dimmer like a NiMH or alkaline cell will.

Many of the single cell 18650 (li-ion) flashlights have no regulator, and you can clearly see them getting dimmer as the battery discharges ... and then they shut off completely when the cutoff circuit is activated. But most dual cell (starting at 8.4 volts and then going down from there) lights have a regulator so you don't notice any changes until it shuts off (with no warning as you said, unless it has a seperate warning light.)

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I'm sure there was exactly this thread recently. Anyway, what a lot of people said is that there is a HUGE jump in rear light performance from $25 to $35. There are a ton of very good lights in the $25 to $35 range. Unless you absolutely can't afford it, it's well worth spending another few bucks and get something like the Cygolite Hotshot, the PDW Danger Zone or Radbot, and several others, all < $35.

Don't skimp on a tail light. At the very least, PDW Dangerzone is the most bang for the buck. Good angle visibility. Don't get caught up in getting the brightest tail light there is for the least amount of money. A lot of the beams are narrowly focused, so if a vehicle is not directly behind you, visibility isn't all it's cracked up to be. Maybe it's my imagination, but it seems vehicles approach bicycles in quite a few directions. Might as well get the most surround visibility possible.

I have a new favorite tail light. The Searfas Thunderbolt. It does not have the same total light output as some of the biggies, but is usee the light output better to create visibility from multiple angles. This light does not depend on the viewer being in a narrow carefully aimed come behind you. People come up to me and ask what light I am using because it is so visible, The 30 micro LEDs also make a bigger viewing spot that is easier to gauge depth perception with and the broad light spill lights your back and the road around you somewhat so people can tell it is a cyclist and not just a point of light at some vague distance away. This straps easily to the back of my helmet in a horizontal position.

Just ordered this today - more for fun (lasers!) than anything else. Will add it to my existing setup w/just the lasers turned on. Liked the fact that it is rechargeable and thought it would be cool to have the lasers illuminating the ground to either side.

Just ordered this today - more for fun (lasers!) than anything else. Will add it to my existing setup w/just the lasers turned on. Liked the fact that it is rechargeable and thought it would be cool to have the lasers illuminating the ground to either side.

Arrived today, and unless this turns out to be unreliable, it looks like a good deal.

It comes w/a post mount, USB charging cable w/special adapter at one end, and USB plug w/LED. The LED on the USB plug is green when the light is fully charged, and orange when it's charging. I would have preferred a standard micro USB cable for charging and a charge LED on the taillight, so I could use any USB cable/USB plug for charging, but it's not that big a deal.

It's big and bright, has a nice quality feel to it. The lasers are very bright (visible in a lit room) and and you can enable the lasers, the LEDs, or both, and both have blinking and continuous modes.

- Lasers have three modes - slow flash, fast flash, and continuous.
- LEDs have three modes - rotate through four different flash patterns using sub-sets of the LEDs, repeat one flash pattern using all the LEDs, all LEDs on continuously.

I haven't had a chance to test distance visibility yet in a realistic setting, but it looks very bright and should suit my needs perfectly. Actually I'm a little worried that friends I ride with might think it's a little too bright.
Have to see if it ends up being reliable/trouble-free, but my initial impression is very positive - glad I decided to check it out.

For $25 I'd go with the Cygolite Hotshot. Never had an issue with mine and it's seriously bright. Just mount it aimed level straight back and cars will give you a wide berth passing. I always use two rear lights and my second light is the Serfas Shield, which is another 2 watt light that I love, but it is out of the price range.

The Radbot 1000 at $25 was my choice and like it immensely. It comes with a variety of mounting options including a rear rack mounting bracket which I was wanting / needing. It's quite rear focussed and extremely bright with 2 flashing options and solid light. A downside might be that a small phillips screw driver is required to change the batteries but this also makes it extremely weatherproof.

For $15, the Red Planet from Portland Design Works (PDW) is hard to beat. If you bust the budget and go up to $35, the Danger Zone light from PDW is bomb proof and is bright enough to make fire trucks jealous.

Cygolite Hotshot 2W, hands down. I've had mine for about 4 years now and it's paid for itself over and over again. They cost a little more than $25 now.... The newer 2014 'SL' version is around the price point but, I have no idea how it compares to the original.

I'm looking for something to mount on a helmet, $10-20 range, ideally powered by a 14500 Li-ion rechargeable battery.

Especially, I want something with a WIDER BEAM so it remains visible as the helmet moves around. As opposed to something with a narrow beam that has long visibility when frame mounted and aimed straight back down the road.

I just got a Blackburn 2'FER last week. Seems pretty good for $25. I just grabbed it because it was cheap, bright and I hadn't had time yet to research lights (I just began riding again recently after a 30-year break). No regrets.

It's plenty bright enough for a rear light. Adequate as a front warning light, but not quite bright enough to actually be useful to illuminate the road (I've ridden at night only once with the 2'FER as a front light). Choice of steady or sorta-random flashing, white or red. Easy to operate. USB rechargeable. Seems to last as long per charge as the specs (1.5 hours steady/5 hours flashing). I was caught out after dark for nearly 3 hours after missing the last bus home, and the 2'FER was still going.

I'm going to add a brighter headlight but the 2'FER is a keeper for a rear light or all purpose pocket light, including for pedestrians.

Pros:
*Versatile. One doodad for front or rear use. Decent all purpose utility flashlight for a keychain or lapel wear too.
*Plenty bright enough as a rear red light, steady or flashing.
*Adequately bright as a front white warning light, steady or flashing.
*Reasonably visible from sides as well.
*Run-time per charge seems good (may decrease with age and use).
*Recharges in a reasonable time via USB port.
*Detachable rubber "wrist" strap fits easily and snugly around handlebar, Mirrycle mirror post, but not quite around the stem.
*Plastic clip snaps snugly into Bontrager rear rack, with some wiggling.
*Very small, lightweight, well made with positive operating switch. About the size and weight of a plastic digital wristwatch.
*Seems solid and weather-resistant.
*Very easy to operate, including the four modes (white, red, steady, flashing).
*Defaults to last mode selected when turned on again.
*Built-in estimator lamps for remaining charge (green, orange, red for full to low warning).

Cons:
*Not quite bright enough to be useful as a full time headlight for road illumination.
*I'm doubtful about long term durability of the rubber "wrist" strap, but it's easily replaced with Velcro or whatever you like.
*Plastic clip seems highly stressed for attaching/detaching to/from rubber strap. If it breaks I suppose Velcro tape could be used.
*USB micro recharger only, no replaceable battery backup.
*No built in angle adjustment, if you'd rather not blind oncoming drivers. But it's probably not quite bright enough to worry about either.

Last edited by canklecat; 09-21-15 at 06:49 PM.
Reason: Clarify some itemized descriptions.

CygoLite Hotshot Micro - This has far more side visibility than the Hotshot. Smaller and lighter. What I like is there's two modes I can use for group riding. (Nothing more irritating than riding behind a bright flashing red light!) The only thing I don't like about it is that the cover for the USB port comes off too easily. They should have made the cover longer so it would fit further into the port.

And yes you can find these lights for less than $25 w/shipping on ebay.